Rob

Yeah, I'm a CAC member. I just didn't know if it's caught on as mainstream in comics or is it considered a gimmick?

Is CVA becoming a thing now? I roll my eyes at it, but CAC stickers on slabbed coins is seen as a legit indicator and collectors pay more for it. Of course it's headed up by the guy who started PCGS. I'm not sure who's behind CVA.

CZUR owners, can you let me know what settings you use and show some examples? I bought one last year, and hate it lol. I want to give it one last try, before ditching it and getting something else. My scans come out pixilated, which I assume is due to using too low of a DPI. I went with their highest default setting (don't remember what it is) but maybe I need to go into the custom settings and input something higher. Jumping ahead, if I do decide to replace it, what is a good one to use with a Mac? Looks like maybe the Plustek A320?

Please leave feedback for me here if we've completed any transactions. I have an old archived kudos thread here: https://boards.cgccomics.com/topic/275479-robs-feedback-thread/ And you can reference my eBay feedback here: https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/reliveyesterday Thanks, Rob

I think there's a natural life cycle to collecting. We're into certain items (toys, comics, etc) as kids, then lose interest as we get to high school and college. Then we become adults and get nostalgic for those things again, but can't really afford them in our 20's and 30's. So we collect when we're in a better financial position in our 40's. Every generation goes through this, which is why collectors are typically older. Coins have been an old man hobby forever, and will probably always be. My concern with comics are whether kids are into them today. Comics have changed since we were buying them off the racks. They seem geared towards the 40+, the guys with the money. But is the comic industry investing in the kids for the future of the hobby? Maybe the movies are keeping them interested, but as someone else said, that doesn't always translate into comic sales.

Take both X-Men #6's at 20% off

A non-existent book that looks like the one you cropped. It's not unimaginable that someone might think that cover was the original cover.

Makes sense, but do you think the prices of comics increase due to inflation? I would assume the increase is more due to an influx of new buyers in the market, looking for an investment to spec on during the pandemic. Saw the same in coins, crypto, trading cards, etc.

Does inflation affect discretionary spending the same as it does other spending? Serious question, as I have no idea. I would suspect the opposite, that as inflation increases the costs of necessary items, people have less to spend on comics.

which issue, #8?

I agree. If you look at the trends of the highs in that table, it increases from $261 to $275 from 2015-2018. Then sharply rises to $665, which is the pandemic bubble. No one knows what the true post-pandemic value is, but my guess would be around that 2019 price. That $336 is still a steep increase from the year prior of $275. $61 (22%) in one year vs $14 over 4 years, prior to that.

Speculation is fun when you can get them on the cheap, but it has to be pure speculation like this. Off to my LCS now...

I agree. I have several saved searches that I check several times a day, but rarely are they very fruitful as most BIN listings are sellers with pipe dreams of getting pandemic prices. They're nowhere near GPA last sale or 90 day avg. That ship has sailed.

Yep, I think current price for this is around $300, until we get more details about the show. Unfortunately, I overpaid due to FOMO. Always liked Damian and kicked myself for not having these before the announcement. Talked myself into snagging a 655 9.8 "while it was still cheap". Yeah, I need some $1 bin comics to snag before they hit $20, to cut my losses on the Bats 655.

Thank you for the thorough response. Loving the discussion about this. Whereas I agree that you can't really compare the comics market to other markets, I do think there are similarities between this bubble and other bubbles. That being, prices are driven up by speculators who join the market, driven by greed. They're buyers who have no sentimental value to the purchases their making, but rather see them as investment commodities. And when they see prices dropping, they get out and get into the next thing. Granted, not 100% of the speculative buying were non-collectors, so I'm sure this correction has more of a sentiment factor than say a housing or stock market bubble, so the trip back to normal may take a little longer. I just don't see any reason to think this isn't like any other bubble we've seen in history.